Me and my girls

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Sleep - The Neverending Battle

This past long weekend, we took the girls up to the cottage. Sleeping arrangements can often be tricky as there are not always enough rooms for guests. So my husband decided we should let the girls share a room for the very first time. After I recovered from my heart attack, I reluctantly agreed to try it and see.

Let me explain why I was sceptical. My girls are 3 and 17 months olds. Ainsley is very good with sleeping. She is a deep sleeper and will stay in bed when it is bed time. She has always been a good sleep and when we did have to sleep train, she got the picture quickly. Juliet, on the other hand, is a very light sleeper and has fought going to bed almost every single night since she was born. She does not sit still and she has never slept in a bed before. In my opinion sharing a room for the first time in a new location was a bad idea but I was willing to be proven wrong.

Well, the first night Ainsley went to bed ok. We initially tried to put Juliet in the pack and play but she screamed in horror. So we piled some mattresses up next to her bed in case she rolled off (she is a very active sleeper), gave her some milk during which time she feel asleep. The girls slept peacfully for most of the night. I went in to check on them during the night a few times. The first time Juliet had rolled off the bed onto the mattresses and was sleeping there (so cute) but I moved her back onto the bed. She did not fall off again but each time I checked on her she was in a completely different position in the bed.

The 2nd night we tried this, things did not go smoothly. Juliet would not lie down in the bed. Everytime we tried she would get up and fool around. Poor Ainsley was so tired but Juliet kept climbing into Ainsley's bed and jumping on her. I ended up watching a bit of TV with Juliet and let her fall asleep and then put her into bed. But then Ainsley woke up in the middle of the night and Brett was worried she would wake Juliet up so he ended up sleeping on the mattress that was on the floor in between the girls.

So all in all, not a success. I'm not quite sure what we will do the next time we are up at the cottage but I am glad to be home where the girls are in seperate bedrooms and Juliet is in a crib that she cannot escape from. Yet.